Bookquick: Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

“Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology” Jean MacIntosh Turfa; 329 pages; 600 ill.; $59.95; cloth

This first comprehensive treatment of every Etruscan and Italic object displayed in the reinstalled Etruscan Gallery of the Penn Museum is one of the few to include a thorough background on this unique culture.

The artifacts represent the entire span of Etruscan history, 9th-1st centuries B.C.E. Turfa illustrates and fully analyzes each piece and provides commentary on its cultural and artistic symbolism. She discusses the latest findings on Etruscan culture, in chronological and thematic arrangement.

Topics include the Iron Age origins of Etruscan culture, the urbanization of Italy, daily life, technology and commerce, religion and architecture the last days of Etruscan culture and the legacy of the Etruscan language.

Rare objects include armor from the Tomb of the Narce Warrior (and also his wife’s funerary offerings), bucchero vases, antefixes depicting black and white female characters and satyrs, an array of gold jewelry, engraved bronze mirrors, and figurines and gemstones showing the gods, heroes and monsters of Etruria.

Notes, bibliography, index and concordances provide meticulous scholarly support. Jean MacIntosh Turfa is a research associate in the Mediterranean Section at the University Museum.

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